Fertilizer and process for making same



' It is slgnificant that Washington,

leather belting, is non-dusting and substan- UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

'J'oH N N. CAROTHERS, or wasnmeromms-rmcr or COLUMBIA, ASSIGNOR T0NEWTON n. BAKER, SECRETARY or WAR, TRUSTEE.

FERTILIZER AND PROCESS FOR MAKING SAME.

1,350,591, Specification of Letters Patent.

No Drawing.

Patented Aug. 24,1920.

-Application filed January 14, 1920. Serial No. 351,440}.

(FILED UNDER, THE ACT OIMARGH 3, 1888, 22 STA T. L, 625.)

To all whom it may concern; I

Be it known that I, Join: N Cenormins, a citizen of the United States,residing at in the District of Columbia, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Fertilizers and Processes for Mak-- ing Same, of whichthe following is a specification; and the invention described herein, ifpatented, maybe used by the Government,

01' any of its 0 cars or employees in prosecugive excellent results. Ifthe strength of the hon of work for the Government, or by any acidsubstantially exceeds there are very other person in the United States,without appreciable losses of nitrogen in the form the payment to himofrany royalty thereon. of oxids during the reaction, as when theis'invention relates to the production of strength of the acid fallsbelow 47% ferti izers containing available nitrogen and oes the reactionproceed with extreme slowphos'phatesand has for its objects theutiliduce mono-calcium (i. phosphate, in accordance equation: Ca, (P0,)+4HNO,=

20a (NO ),+OaH, (P0,) The strength of the range preferably from about2770- to 65%,

e., water-soluble) with the following 65 d to produce a relatively moniawhen the lime nitrogen is added in non-hygroscopic fertilizer in whichthe phosthe next stage of the process hereinafter dephate ingredientexists essentially as di- 'scribed.

calcium phosphate, and which product is rel- After the aforesaidreaction is atively non-corrosive to .the skinand to sufiicient limenitrogen is added mixture of calcium nitrate and mono-calcium phosphateto furnish the quantity of i ime required to convert such mono-calciumhosphate to the di-calcium, (i. e. citratephosphate), according to thefollowing equation:

As noted in the above equation, the calcium nitrate will pass throughtirely unaffected chemically cyanamid, but the physical characteristicsof such calcium nltrate will be fied in that the products of thereaction of In so far as I have been able to ascertain, has the limenitrogen on the mono-calcium phosi been commercially successful,notwithphate will standing the fact that even as long ago as thetendency 1868 the treatment of phosphate rockwith iquesce, thus nitricacid, in order to produce nitrate of handling of the resultant productin bags. lime and mono-basic phosphate of lime, was Also, the calciumnitrate, which is ordinarily described by Horsford in his Patent#77,27 1. highly objectionable, because of being corro- 1 y investigationshave led to the discovsive to' the skin and to leather belting, shoes100 ery that a fertilizer and the like, is rendered innocuous whileabove noted desirable properties can be ecostill preserving its value asa fertilizer manomically produced from the aforesaid raw terial.materials in the following manner: ,My improved product is hlghlyadapted Phosphate rock is first treated with a comfor the use of mixedfertilizers since the 105 bining weight of nitric acid required toprophosphoric acid content approximates that completed, 15

to the said tlally innocuous to the health of the workmen.

Many attempts have been made to render the insoluble tri-calciumphosphate available by the use and hydrochloric acld have been tried, insulfuric, but the latter he most satisfactory because the calciumsulfate formed is not only soluble in dilute solutions of phosphoricacid. Special attention in this connection is directed to United StatesPatents 872,757; 1,011,909 1,058,145; 1,196,910 and 1,275,276.

' none of these processes,

of acid phosphate,

while the nitrogen content approximates that of cotton seed meal, thusrendering it a suitable base for almost any desired mix. Furthermore,when so used, the absence of free lime prevents a reversionof thehosphatic material .to inform. oreover, the fact that the aforesaidproduct contains nitrogen in two forms, one of which is immediatelyavailable and the other of which is more slowly available, is anotherextremely desirable feature. Such productis readil obtained granules ofabout the size 0 a pea or of such size as may be found most convenientand efficient for application in practice and is withal tough andessentially noncyandiamid or and the ensuing reaction,

dusting.

During the addition of the lime nitrogen the temperature is maintainedbelow the point at which serious decomposition of cyanamid intodiammonia occurs, preferably at about C. This is accomplished in wholeor in part by gradually adding the fine dust-like lime nitrogen withconstant agitation orby positive cooling of the mass in accordance withwell known cooling methods. a

' The invention described herein may be used by the Government, or byany other person in the United States, without payment of any royaltythereon.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is: v

1. The process of making a -fertilizer which consists in sub'ectingcalcium phosphate to the action- 0 a concentrated solution of nitricacid having a nitric acid content in" excess of 40%, mono-calciumphosphate and c anamid containing free lime to sub tiall convert saidmono-calcium phosphate to di-calcium phosphate. I

2. The process of making a fertilizer cules of cyanami by weight, toform calcium ni-. trate and then adding sufficient calcium Signe beingwhich consists in subjecting caleiun'i phosphate to the action of aconcentrated solution of nitric acid having a nitric acid content inexcess of 40%and not exceeding 70%, by weight, to form mono-calciumphosphate and calcium nitrate and then adding suflicient calciumcyanamid containing free lime to substantially convert said mono-calciumphosplhate to di-calcium phos hate.

3. he process of maklng ertilizer which consists in subjecting calciumphosphate to the action of a concentrated solution of nitric acid havina nitric acid content of about 50%, by we1ght,to form mono-calciumhosphate and calcium nitrateand then addmg sufiicient calcium cyanamidcontaining free lime to substantially convert said monocalcium phosphateto di-calcium phosphate. 4;. The herein described fertilizer product,comprising a-phosphate, which is essentially citrate-soluble di-calciumphosphate, calcium nitrate and cyanamid, said product being ranularsubstantially non-dusting and not objectionablyi deliquescenta' 5.The'herein describedi fertilizer product, comprising citrate-soluble'di-calcium phosphate, calcium nitrate and cyanamid in the relativeproportions of about between three and five molecules of such phosphate,between one and three molecules of calcium nitrate and between one-halfand two mole- 'd (QNNHQ, said product being substantially non dustingand not objectionably deliquescept.

citrate-soluable di-calcium phoshate in the relative roportions of aboutour molecules of the rst, about two molecules of the second and aboutone molecule of the third named ingredient, said product essentiallynon-dusting and not objectionably deliquescen r d at Anniston in theState of Alabama, this 29th day of November, 1919.

JOHN N. CAROTHERS.

comprising

